Summer is hot, and a heat wave is steaming in the air in Tokyo, but the hot season cannot stop the enthusiasm of believers. Daxiangguo Temple is still bustling with people and pilgrims gather.
After gaining Emperor Liu's understanding and obeying the court's legal system, Buddhism quietly revived in the Han Dynasty. Their vitality is always so tenacious, and the suppression from the secular imperial power only makes them depressed for a few years. However, as long as the restraints on their heads are slightly loosened, they will rise again.
Although Buddhism still has strict restrictions in today's Han Dynasty, whether it is the number of Buddhist temples, the number of monks, or the temple's monk land, there is an insurmountable limit set, and even in Buddhist thought and theory, it is not allowed to Without adding some content about serving the Han Dynasty and respecting Emperor Liu's rule, it can indeed be said that Buddhism has successfully survived those cold winter years.
Buddhism itself may have some suppression from the court, but it is difficult for believers to achieve real restrictions. Without deliberate suppression from powerful powers, the practice of worshiping Buddha among the people has revived again, especially in the past ten years.
When Emperor Liu and his party visited the Shaolin Temple, they once again emphasized the basic principle that religion should submit to the imperial power, but in fact they lifted some of the taboos on Buddhism and brought some long-awaited benefits to Buddhism and Taoism in the world. The sweet rain dissipated many of the dark clouds that had long shrouded Buddhism.
At least we no longer force laymen to direct experts, and let bureaucrats who do not understand Buddhism do the work of inspecting Buddhist temples. Today's Han Dynasty, only in terms of religion, advocates Buddhism and Taoism. This is also the consensus reached by Emperor Liu and these "people from outside the country". On this basis, all other religious groups regard it as heresy and strictly enforce it. ban.
Under the will of Emperor Liu, a nationwide cleanup operation was carried out to clean up the evil temples of evil gods. Especially those cults that deceived people and deceived the people were treated as traitors and were killed and exiled. .
Of course, religion has its own connotations, and it also involves cultural traditions. It cannot be killed or exterminated. At least among the foreign barbarians, they still worship their gods, and these are not recognized by the court. of.
It can be said that the assimilation of foreign ethnic groups implemented by the imperial court in terms of religion and culture was not very effective. It was acceptable to let them speak Chinese, wear Han clothes, and perform Han rituals, but it was difficult to let them destroy sacrifices and beliefs. .
Although some tribes believe in Emperor Liu, they are still in the minority. Most people don't care who Emperor Liu is.
In the current border turmoil and ethnic conflicts of the Han Dynasty, some of the imperial court's religious measures were indeed deeply unpopular, which can also be regarded as the source of trouble.
However, Emperor Liu's attitude and will determined everything. He stubbornly advocated unification, and religious unification was also necessary in his eyes. Everything was to maintain his rule, as long as it was in his eyes All obstacles within should also be eliminated, outlawed, and banned.
When they "destroyed Buddhism", they were also the reasons used by the court to deceive people and have evil intentions. However, they have to admit that compared to those weird and heresies, Buddhist thought is still conducive to stability and can also be used to maintain the rule of the court. An effective tool.
Emperor Liu also understood this truth. Times have changed and the situation has changed. Naturally, there is no need to exterminate all Buddhists like in the Qianyou era. Just like today, in addition to their own jobs, those eminent monks also serve in the Qintian Prison of the imperial court, making contributions to the "religious unification" of the Han Dynasty.
During the campaign to exterminate the Buddha, many temples were indeed demolished and a large number of Buddha statues were melted down, but what was left was the essence and had sufficient foundation. After all, according to current regulations, in principle, only one Buddhist temple is allowed to exist in each state of the Han Dynasty.
Because there are so few people worshiping the Buddha and offering incense, it is naturally easy to gather together. To the naked eye, this is a sign of the prosperity of the incense. Even if it is a herd mentality, it is still willing to go to the only temple.
Of course, a place like Kaifeng is obviously special, and one temple is not enough. At the same time, there is no doubt that the most prosperous temple in the world is the Daixiangokuji Temple located in Tokyo. The current Buddhist temple is also at the Daixiangokuji Temple.
The sun is shining brightly, releasing heat to its heart's content. Even if you are exposed to the sun for a little while, you can't help but have night sweats. Wang Yinwu walked out of the solemn gate of Daxiangguo Temple and subconsciously raised his hand to block the dazzling sunlight.
Looking back, the temple is filled with smoke, there is a large flow of people outside the temple, the vendors relying on Xiangguo Temple are constantly shouting, and the whole scene is lively and prosperous.
However, Wang Yinwu's depressed mood did not get much relief. Many close people have noticed that Wang Yinwu has been in a trance recently, sometimes restless, and the anxiety has even spread within Wude Division. Of course, most people subconsciously think it is because of the Hexi case.
He knew that he was suffering in his heart, because Wang Yinwu had been suffering for a long time because of Lu Duoxun's incident. Today I went to Xiangguo Temple to offer incense, and I also came here to ask for Buddha’s fortune.
Wang Yinwu believes in Buddhism, which is not too strange in the Han Dynasty. After all, it is not what it used to be. However, it might still be surprising if word spread that a person like him, who has dark talents and is accustomed to conspiracy, is actually a Buddhist believer.
Of course, such a situation is not uncommon, and there are many similar people among the upper-class dignitaries of the Han Dynasty. One of the more typical exiles is Tian Qinzuo. He thinks of Buddha in his heart and holds a butcher knife in his hand. He is the one I am talking about. Similarly, the late Hengyang Hou Zhangxun was also a ruthless character who killed many people, but he also had the habit of worshiping Buddha during his lifetime.
To say that Wang Yinwu really believes in Buddhism is not necessarily true. He is just looking for sustenance and some psychological comfort. If that day, Emperor Liu ordered him to lead the Wude Camp to flatten the Xiangguo Temple, it would be the same. There won't be any hesitation.
This visit to the temple to ask for fortune-telling was not fruitless. Although the monk who interpreted the fortune-telling was full of Zen ideas, and his words were so cloudy and foggy that it made him dizzy, he still helped him make a decision.
A tough decision! A decision with an uncertain future.
Although it is full of risks, compared with being anxious all day long, worrying about gains and losses, waiting passively, and taking the initiative to perform, at least you can still strive for something.
To Wang Yinwu, Lu Duoxun was completely out of control. He was a wild horse that could not be comforted or persuaded. That is a time bomb. You never know when it will explode, and it may blow you to pieces.
That night, Wang Yinwu had already made some plans, and was planning to find Zhao Pu, to reveal a little bit, to remind him, and to have a compromise, but he regretted it when he came to the door.
He was already very sober and could easily realize that there was no essential difference between looking for Zhao Pu and Lu Duoxun. What's more, would Zhao Pu believe him? Even if he believed it, he would probably still be used as a pawn.
After passing the Xiangguo Temple and his party, Wang Yinwu completely realized that for the current plan, if he wanted to find stability and survive the crisis, there was only one way to go.
But again, this is a road full of unknowns and may still be a dead end. However, Wang Yinwu no longer has many choices.
As for following Lu Duoxun all the way to the dark side, after thinking about it for the past few days, Wang Yinwu had completely given up.
There are vendors selling everything outside Xiangguo Temple. This is already a famous commercial center in Tokyo. Xiangguo Temple is also the most commercial Buddhist temple in the world. Even the monks' rooms have accommodation fees and goods storage services.
Before Wang Yinwu left, he found a stall selling Buddhist beads and Buddhist ornaments. He casually picked up a string of Buddhist beads, looked at it for a while, without asking the price, put it on his wrist, dropped a silver ingot, and looked at the vendor's blank eyes. , and left with his entourage.
Wang Yinwu did not return to Wudesi, but went straight to the imperial city. Along the way, he muttered something in his mouth and seemed to be chattering.
If you speak out, you can hear Wang Yinwu saying: "Your Majesty, I am guilty..."
"Your Majesty, I have something important to report..."
"I beg your Majesty to punish the sin..."
"Your Majesty, minister, minister..."
The more he thought about it, the more panicked Wang Yinwu felt. This decision was indeed a bit difficult for him. The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt like his scalp was numb.
In Kaifeng Imperial City, Wang Yinwu went in and out as usual, but he had never walked with such difficulty as this time. When he arrived at the Chongzheng Palace, looking at the high platform, his legs felt weak. With great difficulty, he turned around and fled. , suppressed forcibly...
